Album Review: Playboi Carti [Mixtape] by Playboi Carti

Whatever Playboi Carti lacks in substance, he makes up in sheer audacity. For the better part of two years, he kept his fans waiting for a full-length project, held over by a handful of songs, guest verses and previews. "Less is more" is the Atlanta-native's mantra, and the arrival of his eponymous debut is only further confirmation. Playboi Carti is an exercise in efficiency--more beats, less words in number and variation.

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I'm not obtuse enough to pretend like Playboi Carti dropped his debut mixtape (album? uh… playlist?) in a vacuum. Yes, one of the most exciting young rappers has finally released his long-gestating full-length, but he did so on the same day that the unquestionable best rapper alive released 14 potent tracks of introspective, technically flawless rapping. But in a way, it's not that bad of a thing that Playboi Carti finally gave the world his self-titled debut during the same rotation of Earth that Kendrick Lamar gifted us DAMN.

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Back when "Broke Boi" first went viral, Playboi Carti was transitioning from Awful Records, the indie label led by fellow Atlanta native Father, to the more trendy A$AP Mob. In the two years since, he's mingled with industry giants, distanced himself from old collaborators like MexikoDro, Dexter, and Ethreal, and formed a new relationship with Pi’erre Bourne, the underrated up-and-comer responsible for a majority of Young Nudy's Slimeball series. During this transition phase, for all intents and purposes, Carti has been locked in a Hyperbolic Time Chamber, training for his moment on the world stage.

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When Playboi Carti dropped his 2015 track "Broke Boi," the Atlanta native displayed in a short four minutes exactly where modern day rap was headed. A twinkly trap beat with lots of catchy repetition make up one of Carti's biggest songs to date. This was a positive way in which Carti contributed to the progression of new age hip-hop and especially rap that exists almost exclusively on the internet.

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